The purpose of serving a warning or a notice, such as a notice of hearing, is to ensure that the employee carries the knowledge of the content of the document at the time of serving it to the employee and to serve as future proof that the employee knew of the content of the document. The employee signing the document is simply a way to prove that the employee received the document. The employer’s actual aim is to provide the employee with a copy of the notice or warning.
Failure to provide a copy of the document to an employee, save for exceptional circumstances, provides the employee with the possibility of a technical argument that the employee could not examine the document and either prepare for the hearing, for example, or rectify their behaviour listed in the warning. This may have a detrimental effect on procedural fairness further down the line.
We advise that the employer have the employee sign the notice and provide the employee with a copy of the notice. Where the employee refuses to sign, note that and provide the employee with a copy of the said notice in the presence of a third witness.
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